I don’t usually speak about my personal life but this just feels right. If you didn’t know already, in 2011-2012 I did chemotherapy for a year and change to treat Hodgkins Lymphoma (A cancer that starts in the white blood cell, lymphocytes, which aids in the immune system). A lot of people will celebrate your survival but also, A lot of people won’t understand what your mind and body really endured. So here is some long term advice:

Memory

Your memory might really be terrible. Your attention span may not be the same. I make a joke out of this because I’ll forget your name as soon as you walk away. Now, it’s not as though it’s gone from my memory completely , after a couple minutes of convo I can figure it out. My advice, you need to remember it? Write it down. If it’s a task, do it as soon as soon as you can. Lol this might sound funny but if you’re seeing someone write down the last time you took them out or seen them in your calendar. The worse convo is someone telling you they haven’t seen you in a month but your mind is making you believe it was 4 days ago because you’ve spoken to each other every other day since! & my verses? HA! But I will say over the years I’m getting better. I use an agenda & journal for everything now.

Health

Don’t let anyone ever downplay any illness. Get checked, take your meds (or natural alternatives). Where someone may have a flu, take DayQuil and press on, you may be out of commission for a couple days (at times a couple of weeks). Having my immune system jeopardized so much, you should see me with a flu lol. Throwing up, bloody nose, painful cough, all types of stuff. All jokes aside, if you smoke, give it up. If you drink, cut it down. Unhealthy friendships and relationships, cut em off. Drink
water, eat natural, etc! Really take care of yourself mentally and physically. You don’t want to go back to that chair, ever.

Fatigue

This one is my favorite. “You’re lazy”. lol I know. Believe me I want to do a lot more. but I need that chair fam. Half the time there’s no explanation. I’ll wake up feeling like I’m ready to take on the world, 1 hour into my day I’m ready for Netflix and my bed. Try getting me out to a nightclub if I don’t have some sort of business arrangement going on.. I’m the guy ready to leave at 11pm lol or as soon as the deal is done. I’ve tried eating better, sleeping more, meditation but this one is hard to shake off.. I’ve lost over 100 pounds since but every 2-4 months or so at the gym, I max out. A workout will be near impossible to complete without being high on pre workout lol.

Last thing for this post, don’t ever expect anyone to understand you. The same person I described above is gonna be the forgetful, lazy guy that’s over dramatic when he’s sick. lol you’re absolutely right! When I’m low, I’m really low, but when I’m up, there’s a little turbulence but I’m way up.. Not to take away from the ones currently being treated, but at times I feel like there’s points during the aftermath that can be more difficult to deal with than the treatment itself. When these points are forgotten by others you still have to keep up. The depression starts to hit you, the frustration from all of the long term effects start showing, friendships start to fade. But with faith in the big homie I know this is just a chapter in a bigger story. Hopefully by the last chapter it’ll influence the world for the better.. Now this isn’t a pity party either, you better believe I’m taking this world for everything it has in store for me, by the grace of God. This is me telling you that you may feel like the underdog, or life is geared towards your failure, but in reality YOU ARE A BLESSING!

Yesterday I got the opportunity to perform live with T-Mobile CEO John Legere at The Fillmore in Miami Beach. I’ve been looking forward to meeting John for well over a year now. He’s even cooler in person than he is on social networks.Check out my Instagram for clips of the show!

Fun Fact: This was my first big stage performance. Definitely more to come.

Have you ever gotten to the point where you can’t buy food, put gas, or take your spouse out for a small date. Here’s my advice, purchase what I call rainy day cards. Every check purchase gift cards for the activities you want I do. In the example below I went into Walgreens to purchase gift cards for Fandago, Whole Foods, and iTunes.

Fandago/AMC

Fandago because I’m a movie goer. Even at my lowest I’m able to clear my mind and go watch a movie. A side note, occasionally T-Mobile offers discounted movie tickets through their T-Mobile Tuesdays program. This is a great incentive for me to go through Fandago.

An alternative to this would be getting a gift card from AMC (or other theater chain in your area) giving you the ability to also purchase snacks and drinks. Don’t forget once the gift card funds have been expired the spending stops!

Whole Foods

Whole Foods is a consistent pick for me because of the flexibility it gives me with lunch vs groceries. Them having a food bar and groceries gives me the ability to pick how I want to spend the funds without making my eating habits boring. Sometimes I’ll spend a good portion of my gift card in one go but one gift card can cover up to 10 lunch trasanctions based on my eating portions.

iTunes

Lasty iTunes. No shame in saying I’m the person unlocking full versions of apps I like and buying any and everything that seems appealing in the App Store. Also having multiple Apple products like their MacBook Pro, Apple TV, iPhone, etc, this allows me to buy across all of the platforms. The last thing you want is a overdraft fee for a $1.99 purchase (it’s happened to me before).